Venue change sets new tone for NAHS Open Mic Night

The 11th annual Conant Open Mic Night (OMN), sponsored by Conant’s National Art Honor Society, showcased the talent of both students and teachers, with about 20 performances that lasted almost three hours.  In previous years, OMN was held in the Plate Auditorium, but this year, it was held in the brand-new Media Center, which participants said fostered a different atmosphere for the event.

Art teacher and sponsor, Jamie Peterson, said that the change of venue provided a more café/coffee shop-like environment than the old Media Center.  She described the venue as a “calming” and “‘lowkey'” environment for students to perform in.

She explains that the reason OMN is so successful is because it “really encourages students to overcome their fears [of performing] because there is no audition and a small stage; it’s a perfect place to start.”

About 30 National Art Honor Society students helped to host the event, handing out wristbands and ushering at the event.

Varoon Kumar, a senior who performed stand-up comedy, says that Open Mic Night “allows for students to truly exhibit their abilities to captivate an audience.”

He adds that the “culture of entertainment shows how diverse people are besides the clichés of race and religion, and brings [out] the potential in people.”

Amethyst Dabler, another senior who performed Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” on piano and vocals, explains that performing at OMN was worthwhile for her in that she “really wants to go into performing, so practicing in front of peers was worth it.”

She also said that “performing in front of my peers was cool, especially for those who haven’t seen me perform.”

The evening event requires no auditions and, this year, cost $5 to attend. Mrs. Peterson encourages even more people to perform next year.

Below is a list of all performers from this year and the names of their acts:

1. Ms. Donehey; “Life Lessons”
2. Laura Vesco; “Skyfall”
3. Grace Mertzler; “True Love”
4. Amethyst Dabler; “Love Yourself”
5. Kacie Hanetho; “Ne Me Quitte Pas”
6. Erica Berger; “Lay Me Down”
7. Varoon Kumar; “Who Am I?”
8. Allison Chan; “If I Ain’t Got You”
9. Jamaica Zolina; “This is Me”
10. Priscilla Ramistetti; “Flashlight”
11. Amethyst Dabler; “Stay With Me”
12. Zak Cayer + Anna Crouse; “Come As You Are”
13. Grace Meitzler; “Outside Inside”
14. Erika Terrado; “Seasonal Stages of Grief”
15. Tom Memmott; “Viva La Vida”
16. Alyssa Lilja
17. Laura Vesco; “Georgia”
18. Kacie Hanetho; “Joan”
19. Amethyst Dabler; “Sleepwalking”

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